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Child Item

The dog.

McMurphy

You've heard that expression possibly thousands of times over the year's now, but to me "the dog" as an expression doesn't do them justice.

Think about it, we as civilised human beings have domesticated many animals, cats, birds, horses, donkeys and horses to name but a few, but what other animal is there on this earth that even comes close to challenging "the dog" for its loyalty, affection, intelligence, and goddam loveability. (< Is that a word?)

In our house, there's two full time working parents, and 4 kids (and Shane a 4 year old poodle/retriever cross)

Shane will signal to the rest of the house when he hears my van (or herself in the car) approaching the house - lane (it's 90m long by the way, yep long but if it was any shorter it wouldn't reach the house)

He'll loyally wait on either of us when we take him on a walk to the local shop, won't budge an inch from the place we will "command" him to sit and stay (yeah we loop his lead to a bollard whilst in there, but he won't budge an inch without our say so)

He will alert us if someone's at the door, and he'll bark with excitement when we are playing around the house with the kids (eager to join in)

He knows when I'm down (after receiving news of a death of a loved one recently) he just sauntered into the room where I sat, sat at my feet, placed a paw on my ankle and whimpered slightly as if to say he shared my pain.

He will also "guard" each of my kids enthusiastically while they are on their bikes/flickers running alongside them barking as if to say "move out of the way"

I'm adamant that he knows every word I say to him.

We have a cat too (he showed up a few years ago and never left) but he's a prick in comparison.

Let's hear your amusing tales of your pets.

Dog/cat/chameleon or an.other.

Do you have a pet, and if so what are its unique qualities or funny tales you want to share with us?

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mvl

Only have one child that got an indoors-y breed of a dog for 10th bday.
Now 1, the three humans in the house just adore it: it changed our family life.

- Curious if she will grow out of it what is called excitement urination - lots of giggles when it happens.

borderlinemeath

4 dogs.

All Irish setters.

Eldest lady is the only one we got as a pup, she's 11 now and Queen of the house, would train you rather than you train her.

Eldest male, rescue boy who was dumped, had a host of health problems when he was found, and also very nervous. He's maybe 9 or 10 now and is brilliant. He had a cancerous tumour removed last year and bounced back to full health.

Younger male was given up to me for rehoming when he was 18 months old but we kept him ourselves. His family wouldn't let him into the house and he was beginning to develop difficult behaviours that they weren't prepared to deal with for the rest of his life. In fact he was just being a typical lonely dog who wanted to spend time with his family while he languished outside the back door.

Younger female was taken in when her 89yr old owner was going into a nursing home, she was just turned 7 at the time. She rolled into the house at a whopping 37kg, turns out her owner had dementia and had been feeding her probably 5 times a day and she wasn't getting enough exercise since her brother died. She's 23kg now and a far happier healthier dog.

They're all individual, but collectively make up our hairy family. I'd have more if I was allowed. They are brilliant with our 3yr old daughter as well, the eldest female was rolling a ball to the baby when she was 6 months old in the hope that she would throw it.

Just FYI to the poster that wouldn't let "dirty" pets into their home - it's been scientifically proven that children who grow up with a typical pet - ie dog/cat in the house, is far less likely to suffer from respiratory diseases such as asthma, and will have a far more robust immune system than their peers who live in a pet free environment. Living in too clean a house is very detrimental for your immune system. In order for it to function, you must have one in the first place, and there's a generation of kids that are growing up with nervous ninny parents who refuse to have pets and fall victim to the dettol marketing ploy that you have to live 99.9% germ free, and you shouldn't even touch the soap dispenser:rolleyes:.

Skylinehead

Woke Hogan wrote: »

So am I. Neither I nor my phone can possibly be dirtier than an animal. I keep my phone in my trouser pocket, which I wash at least once a week, and I personally shower approximately ten times a week. Our dog slept on a mound of hay in the shed and the cats slept in an old car in the garden. Hardly cleaner than a lab in Intel. :rolleyes:

Doesn't really matter how many times you clean it, phones just pick up all kinds of things.

Cats clean themselves with antiseptic about a million times a day, they're pretty damn clean.

borderlinemeath

Woke Hogan wrote: »

So am I. Neither I nor my phone can possibly be dirtier than an animal. I keep my phone in my trouser pocket, which I wash at least once a week, and I personally shower approximately ten times a week. Our dog slept on a mound of hay in the shed and the cats slept in an old car in the garden. Hardly cleaner than a lab in Intel. :rolleyes:

Your phone
Remote control
Cash in your wallet
Door handles
Light switches
Public transport
Public buildings/work buildings
Stair banisters

All things that will have far more transferable germs and bacteria than your average healthy pet. Can you tell me about some of the zoonotic germs that you might have contracted from your pet had they been allowed into your home?

Woke Hogan

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Your phone
Remote control
Cash in your wallet
Door handles
Light switches
Public transport
Public buildings/work buildings
Stair banisters

All things that will have far more transferable germs and bacteria than your average healthy pet. Can you tell me about some of the zoonotic germs that you might have contracted from your pet had they been allowed into your home?

Your tone is very haughty. Google "yersinia pestis" and tell me if it was animals or light switches that introduced it into Europe during the fourteenth century. :rolleyes:

anewme

Never known a dog to troll. Bloody great, so they are

anewme

Never known a dog to troll. Bloody great, so they are

borderlinemeath

Woke Hogan wrote: »

Your tone is very haughty. Google "yersinia pestis" and tell me if it was animals or light switches that introduced it into Europe during the fourteenth century. :rolleyes:

Did you not read the post? Average healthy pet? The ones that are cared for by their owners? Treated for worms/fleas, vaccinated etc. Not the ones left to fester in a barn or an aul car.

And as for your whataboutery, I'd be more worried about plague rats in the 14th century than dog fleas. I was hoping you might be a bit more up to date and maybe be worried about lyme disease as ticks are fond of dogs. Then again they're not exclusively a host, they'll jump on you regardless of whether you've a dog with you or not. There's probably more fleas on a single hedgehog in the undergrowth than all the dogs being walked in a park at any given time.

McMurphy

Anyone ever known s dog to troll? That's a question that needs to be asked.

Wibbs

Woke Hogan wrote: »

Your tone is very haughty. Google "yersinia pestis" and tell me if it was animals or light switches that introduced it into Europe during the fourteenth century. :rolleyes:

Ah here, going from just a tad OCD on the oul hygiene lark to bringing up the bubonic plague? Yeah I think you're safe Ted.

SEPT 23 1989

My missus fosters dogs from time to time here

Some very sad cases over the years

One just hid under a table shaking for a few days wouldn't move

God knows what she went through

After a couple of weeks she gained human trust again life came back into her eyes and she moved on to a permanent home

We were sent a video of her a few months later and she was like a different dog running around tail wagging

Another one was thrown out of van down in Kildare and we decided to keep her

a fantastic dog

If I could make laws it would be a minimum of a five year sentence for anyone found guilty of mistreatment of any animal

Gimme A Pound

I don't have pets but my parents and siblings do. My sister in law's bichon just licks people continuously. It gets annoying but it's insanely cute and loving! My brother's lurcher - sadly no longer here - was just divine. The love from her - how could a single entity contain so much love!

Every time she saw me she would go ****ing mental with joy.

And yeah cats obviously aren't as sweet as dogs - generally speaking - but my parents have had very affectionate cats which love being petted and weave around your ankles and muzzle up against you and are always purring and even... loving!

Ave Sodalis

I don't think I would be alive if it wasn't for my dog. He is my best (and at one stage, only) friend. He's the main thing that has kept me sane through all the crap life has thrown at me. He's 12 now, and coming into the last stages of his life (nerve damage), and I don't know what I'm going to do without him. He's the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I'm going to have to make that horrid decision of when enough is enough. Thankfully, he's stable and happy on the medication he's currently on and the physio I'm doing with him, but I know in my heart that it's not far off.

I won't be able to get another dog for a long time though. He's a once in a lifetime dog, and it wouldn't be fair to get another when I will just be comparing it to this one. I mean I love dogs, I work with animals... but it'll be many years before I recover from the grief of losing this one enough to get another.

borderlinemeath

Ave Sodalis wrote: »

I don't think I would be alive if it wasn't for my dog. He is my best (and at one stage, only) friend. He's the main thing that has kept me sane through all the crap life has thrown at me. He's 12 now, and coming into the last stages of his life (nerve damage), and I don't know what I'm going to do without him. He's the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I'm going to have to make that horrid decision of when enough is enough. Thankfully, he's stable and happy on the medication he's currently on and the physio I'm doing with him, but I know in my heart that it's not far off.

I won't be able to get another dog for a long time though. He's a once in a lifetime dog, and it wouldn't be fair to get another when I will just be comparing it to this one. I mean I love dogs, I work with animals... but it'll be many years before I recover from the grief of losing this one enough to get another.

It's part of the reason why I have at least 3 -4. The thoughts of losing any of my dogs fills me with dread and I worry for them as well, because if I had only 2, then it would leave one on it's own. So I have to have at least 3, so that when one goes, at least they have each other. Rescuing the 4th was an added bonus.

kerry37

We have Dan the German Shepherd, Bobby the collie x terrier and George the tabby cat. The dogs are both 2 and George is 14 so hes an old boy but they all get on well together.

My oh had George before we met and I was one of those people who "hated cats" but hes actually class, we have our little routines now and he will let me pick him up or give him the "rough rubs" like youd pet a dog

We got Bobby off a farmer who was going to get rid of him otherwise. Hes a great little fella. Very affectionate and full of energy. Constantly doing silly stuff to make us laugh.

Dan is a complicated story but the gist is, he was dumped in our friends garden covered in cuts, matted hair and severely malnourished. He wasnt chipped or tagged and she couldn't keep him. She had him for almost a month, got him vet treatment and on the mend. Then she gave him to us and it was the most challenging thing I've ever done but now it is the most rewarding thing I've ever done. He has chewed and.destroyed more things that I can remember but I wouldnt change him. He is still very much a work in progress but his progress over the last year or so is phenomenal.

A mate of mine once told me to pet every dog I see, you'll feel better for it.

Hes not wrong.

Ave Sodalis

borderlinemeath wrote: »

It's part of the reason why I have at least 3 -4. The thoughts of losing any of my dogs fills me with dread and I worry for them as well, because if I had only 2, then it would leave one on it's own. So I have to have at least 3, so that when one goes, at least they have each other. Rescuing the 4th was an added bonus.

I would if I could afford it! Maybe when I get fully qualified and have a much better income.

Ave Sodalis

malachy1 wrote: »

Sure they'll eat any oul ****e ya give em at all.

I learned a long time ago about the value of a good quality diet. My current dog has food allergies that cause him to break out in sores over his jaw and feet. He even recently had a lump removal surgery that was likely caused by a build up, as there's so much scar tissue under his jaw. His coat is now gleaming since changing his food, and up until a few months ago, he looked far healthier than he did as a 2 year old. A lot of his mobility issues are being kept at bay due to his diet as well.

Whehey!

Aw I have a lurcher, a maine coon and a tabby!

The lurcher I rescued when she was ten days old, her mother was very sick she was 11 years old and the family that owned her had over bred the poor thing basically to keep the females for more breeding. I had only set out to Foster her for two weeks, to feed her every three hours 24-7 was a full time job, but we kept her in the end.

Altho fairly hesitant about it, as I had never had a dog before in my life only cats, it was the best decision I've ever made. She's my best friend now she's an absolute dream, who lives for getting hugs and kisses all the time. She has the funniest personality, and altho wild as a kite, she's the most affectionate lurcher in the world. She would kill you with kindness! She's 1 and a half now and currently asleep in the bed with me! There's so much to be said for owning a lurcher, I wish people would adopt more lurcher and greyhounds. There seriously diamonds.

The main coon we got seven years ago, and he rules the roost. One day he actually let a meow out that was like a bark.... Ha ha very strange! He acts like a dog tho.Hes the best cat you could find! Extremely affectionate- like unreal. Spends his days lounging around, he is the gentlest soul you could find. But an absolute killer when on the loose for a mouse or a bird. He brought me home a chicken one day. #proudday..... Not, mortified the neighbours might have saw!!

The main coon and the lurcher let on to be enemies, but there not fooling anyone. Every evening the coon would hop up beside the dog and start to groom the dogs ears, and luna the lurcher just stares off into the distance with the most awkward I'm actual loving this look he could give, with out giving it away. Who's he fooling? Hilarious.

Then we have the tabby who we rescued, he was taken away from his mammy way too young and was found trying to suckle on a dog for milk, dog was having none of it tho. Funny that. The cat isn't right in the head tho, he went a bit funny for a couple of years, he couldn't meow properly but he seems to be fine these days! Hes still a mentalist tho, but at least he can meow properly!

Him and the dog, don't get on tho, harmless scraps between the two of them. Ya can nearly hear the boxes the cat gives him. Ha ha

My house is a bit mental most of the time.

Wouldn't have it any other way tho, loves coming home to them all, with their own quirky personalities!

DrPhilG

Down to just the one dog now, a miniature JR called Eddie. Beth and Bella the Rotties sadly died. Bella from bone cancer about 3 years ago and Beth from old age last year... We also have a ridiculous squad of cats, 6 in total and we also lost one (she went wandering and never returned) 2 months ago.

I'm also a big fan of human names for animals. Once knew a guy with a dog called Tony which is a great name for a pet imp.

Alongside Eddie we have cats called Jones, Gerry, Sal, Bob, Lucy and Holly.

All our dogs and cats have been rescues of various kinds. Taken in when others didn't want them, adopted strays, on the run for murder (Eddie) or rehomed from elderly relatives.

SAMTALK

The feeling when you get home and the dogs are so excited to see you. Adorable.

then face the teenagers who just grunt and snarl. Why cant teens be as lovable and loyal as the dogs

McMurphy

SAMTALK wrote: »

The feeling when you get home and the dogs are so excited to see you. Adorable.

then face the teenagers who just grunt and snarl. Why cant teens be as lovable and loyal as the dogs

Yep, I'll often get the "can't believe you said hello to Shane before me this evening".

My reply is usually along the lines of whenever you greet me at the door by howling with excitement, and then licking me enthusiastically, and exposing your chest for me to rub, you could jump the queue any evening you fancied.

Soon takes the wind out of her sails.

SAMTALK

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

Yep, I'll often get the "can't believe you said hello to Shane before me this evening".

My reply is usually along the lines of whenever you greet me at the door by howling with excitement, and then licking me enthusiastically, and exposing your chest for me to rub, you could jump the queue any evening you fancied.

Soon takes the wind out of her sails.

I have 3 (dogs not teens T.G) and to see them vying for my attention is so funny
It.s like a competition to see who gets the most hugs

PinkLady2016

I adopted a dog from the local animal shelter. He was a collie cross. When I got him first he wouldn't come out behind the couch because he was so nervous. But I brought him around over the years. Had him for 12 years and sadly he got a large lump in his stomach. The vets were doing tests on him to see what the lump was. Anyway he died shortly after coming home from the vet that day. Maybe it was the anaesthetic that got him in the end. But I remembered that night he smiled at me even though he wasn't well. Then some hours later he passed away through the next morning. In some way maybe he went off the best way surrounded by family. At least I didn't have to make that decision.

The Tetrarch

I am 68.
Six months ago I got my first dog, two rescue dogs, and they are great.
They are a total mismatch, the big dog is five times the size of the small dog.
I call the little dog the wee dog, and it is not about her size.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I've a lovely old Jack Russell. He's as thick as two short planks but I love him all the same.

I asked the Vet yrs back to check for any sort of head issues but he says he's fine.

Our 6 month old cat is like Einstein compared to the poor bastard. She already has complete control over the house but also shows affection towards him which is quite sweet.

Dial Hard

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I've a lovely old Jack Russell. He's as thick as two short planks but I love him all the same.

I asked the Vet yrs back to check for any sort of head issues but he says he's fine.

Our 6 month old cat is like Einstein compared to the poor bastard. She already has complete control over the house but also shows affection towards him which is quite sweet.

I had a boxer like this. I'm convinced he was dropped on his head as a puppy. He once got stung in the mouth by the same wasp about 4 times because he kept trying to pick it up and swallow it again even after spitting it out cause it had just stung him in the mouth. His entire head swelled up like a particularly misshapen pumpkin and we had to make an emergency stop at the vet. God, he was a big loveable gobsh!te, though.

McMurphy

Bigbagofcans wrote: »

Comparison is the thief of joy.

I was comparing my cat to my dog, not cats with dogs.

I don't mind cats, we grew up with loads around us, and we even have one in our house now, I'm saying that he's a prick compared to the dog we have.

I reserve the right to make a comparison between the two pets that are cared for under my own roof after all.

The dog will shower you with his love, loyalty and dedication.

The cat showers my lawn with cat shyte, barely acknowledges any of us most of the time except for when he wants fed or a treat from his press.

He's basically a selfish prick in comparison to the dog, hence me stating such.

Graces7

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

I was comparing my cat to my dog, not cats with dogs.

I don't mind cats, we grew up with loads around us, and we even have one in our house now, I'm saying that he's a prick compared to the dog we have.

I reserve the right to make a comparison between the two pets that are cared for under my own roof after all.

The dog will shower you with his love, loyalty and dedication.

The cat showers my lawn with cat shyte, barely acknowledges any of us most of the time except for when he wants fed or a treat from his press.

He's basically a selfish prick in comparison to the dog, hence me stating such.

if that is how you think of him...

Kitty6277

borderlinemeath wrote: »

4 dogs.

All Irish setters.

Oh I love Irish Setters, you never see many of them around.

My dog died about 3 years ago, but she was such a great companion. She used to always be in the same room as us, and ended up sleeping on my mam’s bed.

About a week before she died, our house was broken into, and when the people who broke in were gone, she was upstairs, and a sweeping brush was lying across the landing. We think they used the sweeping brush to try and keep her back from them, she was a Yorkie x so she was a small thing, but by god she’d bark if someone went near the house. She lost a tooth that night, it makes me sad to think of what they must have done to her. She got gradually sicker after that night and we wonder in hindsight if that has anything to do with her death.

Either way, she was a great dog and we still miss her.

McMurphy

Graces7 wrote: »

if that is how you think of him...

Yeah, I don't dislike him, nor try to treat him any less favourably than the dog, but he doesn't give nearly as much back as the dog.

As already said, we acquired him (he just showed up) and never left, perhaps his complete take it all but return very little attitude has something to do with his past life before being adopted by us.